I love jambalaya on a rainy day! This is an easy recipe . I just eyeball sh!t I don't really measure. But I will do the best I can.

Ingredients:

1 pound of chicken (you can do thighs or go boneless breast,cut up,whatever),cubed or whole thighs

3 Cajun Sausages (andouille or the like) I get these sausages from an old school butcher shop ,cut diagonally

1/2 pound of ham steak(you are supposed to use tasso,I just find these ham steaks from safeway,pretty flavorful,cooks brand I believe),diced

1.5 cups rice,coverted if possible,I've even used brown rice for this

4 cloves of garlic(make them fat!),minced

1 yellow onion,chopped

1 large bell pepper,diced

4 celery stalks,sliced

2 bay leaves

1 box of chicken broth

1 box chopped tomatoes(get the good ones,don't buy the cheap cans)

Old Bay seasoning

Paul Prudhommes Poultry Magic

Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning

If you pre chop all this sh1t your life will be easier



Ok Take a big cast iron enameled stew pot(creuset,I got the Martha Stewart one,post sweat shop prison stint)

Melt some Kerry Gold Irish butter in that mofo and brown the chicken for a few minutes. Add the ham and sausage,and brown them. Once you've done that remove the meat and set aside. Add more butter and quickly soften half the onion,half the bell pepper and half the celery. Right about then I start seasoning,a little poultry magic,bay and creole. Make sure you don't burn the vegetables ,I tend to go lower heat after the browning of the meat. Add the garlic and work that in.

The trick with this stuff is to layer the seasoning. And adding half the veggies later. Trust me on this. Ok now add all the meat again,chicken stock,bay leaf,rice, and chopped tomatoes. Ok I let that stuff come to a boil and season again,mostly with the poultry magic,just a good covering,and some more creole seasoning.

Use a wooden spoon to scrape all those brown crispy bits off the bottom,it's flavor. Drop that heat down to a simmer and cover the pot ,if you need to add a little more liquid you can add either water or stock(do stock,don't be a little candy ass). You want all that goodness covered. The rice will absorb all that flavor,which is what you want.

I let this blip away for around half hour,40 minutes,checking it occasionally to make sure it ain't sticking. You want to agitate all those bits off the bottom. I'll check it for flavor. If it's not spicy enough I add more poultry magic. You can do a shot of hot sauce in there too (crystal). Or tabasco if you are a jabroni.

Ok after the pots been bubblin for a while I add the rest of the celery bell pepper and onion (they call that the holy trinity in New Orleans). Cover again and let it blip for another half hour or so. You need to keep an eye on it so the liquid doesn't all evaporate and the sh!t starts burning. Check it . Season again if you need to during the cooking process. You will know when it's good. Once that's all well and good,let it sit for a bit to get all that flavor jelling and eat away. It's even better if you let it sit overnight and reheat it ,all that flavor has had a chance to integrate into the dish. This [Bleeeeep!] is bomb,and you can add shrimp,or crawdads,whatever. It's your dish. Some people add cayenne. Sometimes I'll toss in a shot of worcesteshire sauce when I add the broth. It all depends on mood. The basics are right there,and it is a taste of the big fkn easy baby! Next time I'll throw down my killer Beef Bourgignon recipe . Bon Ape [Bleeeeep!]
Ti t is censored? Dang

Edit: Let it cook till all the liquid is sucked up and it's thick. Cooking times vary,and you will know when it's good and done.